Vicarious Trauma and Coping Mechanisms: The Lived Experiences of a Cohort of Qualitative Researchers in Academe

Abstract

ABSTRACT Qualitative researchers delve into the lives of their study’s participants and embark on profound explorations to attain in-depth information and rich contextual data. For those who research trauma and victimization, they share a close, empathetic relationship with their study participants who communicate intimate, non-abstract information regarding traumatic events. These researchers give voice to and archive the traumas of everyday life as experienced by victimized and traumatized individuals. However, qualitative researchers are at risk of vicarious trauma as a result of listening to the narratives of survivors of trauma and violent crime. In Trinidad and Tobago, this is an under-researched topic. As a result, twelve qualitative Social Sciences researchers at Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) in Trinidad and Tobago were interviewed to elicit their lived experiences of being immersed in qualitative research, the existence of vicarious trauma, and coping strategies employed. The study adopted a phenomenological approach, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results indicated the presence of vicarious trauma among the study’s participants as well as a host of coping mechanisms employed to manage its effects, which raises policy implications for IHE which employs qualitative researchers.